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Thursday, December 20, 2018

Christmas Gift

Christina Weigand

I am going to take a break from my author series for my next
two posts. Christmas is in a few days and I don’t have a post scheduled for
that day so today I will do my Christmas post.

At my age I have quite a few memories from Christmas’s past.
Today I want to remember one in the not so distant past. It is from last
Christmas. Between the kids and my husband and I moving around a lot in recent
years, we had not had all the kids under one roof for a while. We always were
short of at least one. We had gotten used to it, but it still a little sad not
being able to gather as a family.

Now keep in mind, I have a son who lives in Vermont with his
wife and two daughters.

My other son lives in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, with his
wife.

And my oldest daughter lives in the state of Washington with her husband
and two daughters.

For a few years myhusband and I lived in Washington before moving back to
Pennsylvania. So you can see being spread across the country as we are it can
be difficult to get everyone together.

Since moving back to Pennsylvania we have established a
pattern in which my son in Vermont comes to PA one year and the next year my
husband and I travel to Vermont a few days after Christmas to do a second
holiday with Scott and his family. With Nicholas living so close to us we
manage to see him pretty much every Christmas. Katie in Washington is the one
that is most difficult to see. This one really hurts because for seventeen
years she was my only daughter in a house full of men so we had a special bond. Not being able to see her at Christmas was hard.

So we come to 2016, our year to go to Vermont. We Skype with Katie
and her family in Washington. The conversation is fun and sad at the same time.
One thing to come out of it: Katie and her family are going to come to Pennsylvania
for Christmas 2017. The planning begins. The first thing we do is plan to host
Christmas for both my husband’s and my family at our house. I forgot to
mention: both my husband and myself are the oldest of eight, so when the
families manage to get together it is a big deal.

So back to the planning, both my son and his family as well as
my daughter and her family will be staying in my four bedroom house. Counting
the three of us living there, the four coming from Vermont and the four from
Washington adds up to eleven people under one roof for a week.

We pick up Katie and her family at the airport and Scott and
his family drive down from Vermont a few days before Christmas. We get them
settled just in time to have a small get together with my family on Christmas
Eve. Nicholas is not able to make this one.

It is a nice quiet get together as my family is not as large
as my husband’s. Even though we have the same amount of siblings, the sibling’s
families are not as numerous.

So quiet: we share a meal, exchange gifts and go our separate ways.
Al and I go to 10:00 p.m. mass and afterwards get some rest before the madness
Christmas day will bring. While we are at mass my daughter and daughter -in-law
start the cooking for tomorrow.

Christmas morning; Nicholas and his wife arrive and we open
our gifts. Then it’s on to cleaning and more cooking.

Afternoon arrives and my
husband’s family starts to arrive. By the time they all arrive there are forty
two people in my house and madness ensues, from gift exchange to eating to
visiting. Definitely not the quiet party from Christmas Eve, but just as much
fun.

Several hours later and a small meltdown from my introvert
daughter (this is the youngest that still lives with us), the house is once
again quiet as we sit and review the day’s activities.

In a couple of days Scott and his family leave and after
another week Katie and her family leave. It is back to just the three of us.

The last month was a whirlwind of family and activity. Now
we take a little time to catch our breath and then tackle the upcoming year,
which will be full of it’s own adventures. There were days when I couldn’t wait
for everyone to leave, days when I just wanted to hide, but I wouldn’t trade
the time spent with my kids for anything in the world. The best gift I received
was having all my kids in one place, for all the madness of the holiday, but
also for all those times when we got to be with each other in the quiet and
peace of the season.

The next time we do this, the photo will be different, as our
lives grow and change. People will be added others will grow and move on, but
for one quiet moment in the flow of life we were all together, and until the
next time, this was the best Christmas gift ever.

Christmas 2018 will be a little quieter with only one of my
children visiting. We will go to my sisters for a small get together on
Saturday and then will host a smaller version of my husband’s family Christmas
day. On the 27th we will drive to Vermont to spend New Years with
Scott and his family.

May you all have a Blessed Christmas and may all your dreams
come true.